The Paths that Diverge
by TankHunter
Summary: An alternative scene to the episode with Shinnosuke based on the manga version. The title is random because I suck at titling.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is an alternative scene that takes place during the episode with Shinnosuke, based mainly on the manga (VIZ v24; I'm using a different translation, though, so some phrases may differ). Possible spoiler, but only when you have a really, really short attention span that you couldn't finish reading the original story in one sitting.

Setting: Ranma wanted to set things straight with Akane. Shinnosuke thought he was bothering her. They had a little fight. Akane saw that Shinnosuke was having an attack and slapped Ranma. Ranma left and wallowed about it.

Angst-Riser: What if Ranma never caught Grandfather and was never led to the whole mess? What if he did go back home and leave again on a training journey?

1

_Goodbye, Akane. We won't see each other again_.

It was something he said, but not something he meant. His face was resigned, but he kept turning around, hoping to see her come running towards him. He thought he heard her voice crying out his name, but it was only a figment of his imagination. She was nowhere to be seen. There was a crashing sound, someone was screaming, but it wasn't Akane calling for him.

_That's right, she has that Shinnosuke dude now._

Each step was heavier than its predecessor. He couldn't understand how she could choose someone else. She never did tell him a reason, but the slap spoke loud enough. He didn't need to hear her reason anymore; her decision was what mattered.

The temptation to go back to where she was and beat the crap out of Shinnosuke and finally drag her home with him hovered, and he had to force himself to run to keep the thoughts out.

Still. They had been through many things together—_too_ many things. Memory after memory returned to Ranma's head. He didn't know when he started to fall for her. Wasn't she the violent uncute tomboy he hated after their first meeting? When—and how—did she become someone he cared about so much?

"Damn it!" he couldn't stop himself from shouting. He increased his pace. He needed to go back to the Tendos' soon. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" He punched everything that stood on his way. A couple trees fell.

2

Akane looked up for a moment, wondering what the noise was all about. Then she sopped the towel in her hands and placed it on Shinnnosuke's head. He was still unconscious, his head resting on her lap.

Her mind kept replaying the last thing Ranma had said to her. _I get it. Sorry I bothered you._

The last thing she saw was his back. _I . . . I get it._

She hated to see that dejected look. She wished she could have run after him back then, but Shinnosuke was having an attack and she had to take care of him. Shinnosuke, who saved her life when they were younger, and whose life, because of that, was in danger. And Ranma didn't know any of this. "Idiot, you don't understand anything, just as usual."

A tear trickled down and fell on P-chan's head. P-chan wasn't sure why she was crying, but he didn't want her to and tried to comfort her.

_Ranma, I'm not going to see you again._

Just then, Grandfather came running in full speed toward her direction. Akane was surprised especially because of the multiple serpent heads that followed him.

"Run!" he shouted to her. "Run or you'll be eaten!"

She hurriedly grabbed Shinnosuke, carried him on her back, and started running. Fortunately, a rock crevice was nearby, and they all jumped into it. One head almost got through, but some rocks fell and blocked it.

As Akane was panting hard and trying to recover from the fright, she heard Grandfather sobbing. "I'm of no use," he moaned. As he lay there, ostensibly dying, he explained that the monster that was chasing after them was the Yamatano serpent. He also told Akane about its connection with the Water of Life and the moss that could save Shinnosuke's life.

By now, he seemed to have recover and looked as healthy as ever.

"Is there a way to defeat the serpent?" Akane asked after she was sure he was not going to die after all.

Grandfather tilted his head to the right and to the left. "There is, but there isn't," he said finally.  
"Huh?"

"There was a secret treasure for banishing serpents handed from ancient days called Horn Whistle. It was made from the horn of the serpent's worst enemy: a one-horned mongoose, which was, according to the Great Japanese Rare Beasts Compendium, a rare beast said to be extinct for several hundred years. But," Grandfather added with a fresh roll of tears, "when Shinnosuke was small, he lost it the day I gave it to him."

Right away Akane knew what he was talking about and showed him the charm that Shinnosuke had given him.

"I heard everything," Shinnosuke suddenly popped up between the two, who both jumped back in terror. But now that they knew a way to save his life, they had nothing to hide anymore.

It was already dark by the time they found a way out of the crevice, so they waited until the next morning to lure and defeat the Yamatano serpent. There were originally only seven heads, but on its tail was the eighth largest head, on which the moss of life was found.

Akane was happy for Shinnosuke, but she told him and Grandfather that she couldn't stay long and had to hurry back home.

"I have a fiancé," she told them.

-tbc-

A/N: If the last part seems rushed, that's because it is. Aside from a few changes here and there, it's pretty similar the original manga story. Besides, I'm more interested in the RanmaxAkane element, so who cares about the details in Shinnosuke's life, right?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: One source told me that in Japan, "uncle" is a reference to simply any older man you respect, not just a relative. So in the spirit of being nominally correct, while I've never seen the anime and have no idea what some of the characters call one another, I'll have Ranma call Tendo Soun that. 3

3

The Tendo dojo looked exactly the way it was before he left, but Ranma still needed to be on a tree to have an even better overview. Actually, he was mulling over what to say about Akane. Preoccupied with his own feelings, he hadn't thought about this at all on his way home. Uncle had sent him out to fetch Akane because he thought she was running away from home. The good news was, she wasn't. The bad news was, she was still away and now living with some other guy.

Uncle would be less than pleased. The legacy of the dojo was secure with the engagement of Ranma and Akane, but now that Akane no longer lived there, it was not so anymore. Unless, of course, he became engaged to either Kasumi or Nabiki instead. The thought of marrying the latter gave him a chill. He remembered the time he and Akane had a big fight, during which he temporarily became Nabiki's fiancé.

"Now I really got to get out of here," he muttered.

"What's wrong, my son?"

The voice that suddenly interrupted his thoughts was like a thunder in his head. Surprised, he instinctively jumped off and landed himself safe on the ground. He looked up to find Happosai.

"Jiji." Ranma scowled. "Still alive, eh?"

'I heard that Akane has run away." Happosai's eyes brimmed with tears. "And she was my favorite, too." And without wasting another second, he hopped off the branch and swung a bucket of cold water.

Ranma, who was in one of his worse moods, dodged the bucket, grabbed it by the handle, and threw it back at Happosai smack in the face.

"I was just trying to help," the old pervert sobbed.

"How's that going to help!" Ranma gritted his teeth. "You little—" _You don't even know what the problem is._

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard Kasumi's voice from behind him, "What is the commotion?"

Nabiki's followed after. "Geez, just when I decide to start my homework, too."

Ranma froze. He had thought to sneak silently into the house, but he had been caught before he even did the crime. Happosai took the chance to swing another bucket of cold water and flew towards Ranma's chest. Ranma, now a girl and wet and highly irritated, grab him by the head and kicked him into the sky. "You dirty old man!"

Kasumi covered her mouth with one hand. "Why, it's Ranma."

"Figures," Nabiki chimed in.

Ranma smiled nervously and walked quickly into the house, trying to avoid any conversation, but Nabiki, sensing something was wrong and eager to blackmail him over it, trailed right behind him. "Where's Akane, Ranma? You didn't find her?"

"Oh, I find her all right."

"And?"

He refused to elaborate, and they continued to walk ridiculously fast around the house. Nabiki's glare showed more suspicion now than ever. Finally, upon finding his father—in his panda form—lying about in front of the television, he told her, "I'll tell you after we take a bath. Come with me, Oyaji."

Nabiki was certain he would never voluntarily come to her and confess the whole truth, but she decided to let it slip this time.

-tbc-


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I just realized that in Chapter 2, I call Ranma a "he" even though he's in his girl form. While this was partially because I was writing it at 5am when I'd lost most of my senses, I had always thought it was unfair to switch his pronoun while the other cursed ones remain a "he" or a "she" even in their animal forms. After all, he's originally a boy, right? Plus it doesn't hurt for the lazy ones (like me) if he stays a he.

4

The bathroom was clouded with the steam from the hot water. Genma cracked his neck and laid his back against the bathroom tub lazily. He watched as his son kept on his frowning face without saying anything longer than Ranma typically would.

"So what's up, son?" he asked without too much curiosity. He earned no response.

As his mind had been elsewhere and was nearly disconnected from his body, it took a while before Ranma realized that his father had spoken. Before he could react, though, Genma had put his fingers together and sprinkled water into his face. When his view had cleared, he saw that his father was sticking out his tongue, laughing triumphantly as he repeatedly sprinkled more water in Ranma's direction. It was a trick they used to do whenever they were in the water together. But Ranma was a little kid back then, and he wondered if his father had such an unhappy childhood that he was making up for it now as an old man.

After several more attacks and no sign of stopping anytime soon, Ranma gave up trying to be the bigger man and put his fingers together as well and counterattacked. Eventually they moved from splashing water onto each other's face to pure fist fighting. Only after three bumps grew on his head did Genma raise a white flag and straighten his glasses.

"As I was saying," he said with a straight face as though nothing unusual had happened, "what's up, son?"

Ranma suddenly forgot his latest grudge towards his father. "Oh yeah." His serious face restored. "Oyaji, we need to go on another training trip. And," he added with a tone of importance, "this one will be a permanent one." With that, he looked at his father determinedly.

At first Genma returned the same look. Then he started to pick his nose and acted as if he had never heard of the idea being conceived. Ranma had to hit his head to force an answer out of him.

And so he sighed, shaking his head regretfully. "Ranma, I admire your determination, but do you know how hard it is for an old man like to me to go on a training trip permanently, without a home to go back to?"

"Oh." Ranma grew sympathetic as he came to realize that his father was not as young and strong as he used to be."

He couldn't keep his sympathy for long, however, as his father continued speaking of his dilemma passionately, complete with tears rolling down his eyes. "With no decent food like Kasumi's cooking everyday! With no TV! And having to actually work!"

Ranma's face strained. He never misunderstood his father after all. "I got it. If you'd rather stay here and eat for free and lie around doing nothing, then do so. But I'm out of here." He started to rise from the bathtub and put a towel around his waist.

Relieved from a potentially dark future, Genma made no further comment. His son was a man after all; it was time to let him go. More tears rolled down his eyes—tears of pride. _Ranma, I'll be supporting you from right here._

"Oh, by the way," Ranma said before he slid the bathroom door and made his way out. "Tell Uncle that Akane's not coming back. She's found someone else. So that's why I'm leaving: I'm no longer her fiancée."

This particular statement didn't strike Genma as anything special until a long time after.

If Ranma wasn't going to marry Akane, then that would mean that he, Genma, would not be related to the Tendo family. And once Tendo found a new fiancé for one of his daughters, that fiancé and his family would move in to the Tendo house, and that would mean that he, Genma, would have to move out and be on his own.

Genma's world was instantly turned upside down. _This can't be. I musth do something._

-tbc-


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: N/A

5

She had lost count how many times she had run with all her might while silently calling his name. She hoped that this wasn't going to be the last one. He was often times irritating, but never once did she feel like letting go of him.

It had been one long journey, or so it seemed. She had rushed her way back to Nerima, resting only when necessary. Borborygmi haunted her stomach because she hadn't had any decent meals in a few days and ate only as necessary. She really couldn't afford to waste any time; she had to see Ranma as soon as possible and clear up the misunderstanding.

She had grown terribly weak and weary, but as her neighborhood came to her sight, she forced herself to muster the last of her strength. And the first thing she did at home was not to rest. Slamming the door open excitedly, she right away ran around the house searching for her fiancé.

"Ranma!" She looked around the dojo to make sure it was as empty as it seemed before she moved on. "Ranma!"

She went through the kitchen, the living room, and even the bathroom, but she couldn't find him anywhere. Frustrated she staggered to the backyard and sat weakly on the porch. Her eyes were vacant as they looked over the pond. In her head on her way home, she had pictured meeting Ranma right away. A week had passed since she last saw him, and she had patiently bore every second of it. Now she was hungry and tired and had to wait some more. It was all too much, and so she burst into tears.

She was still weeping uncontrollably when someone tapped her shoulder lightly. Her face brightened when she saw Genma—in his panda form—holding a sign that said: "You're back!"

"Uncle, you're here." She scrambled to her feet, immensely relieved. She had taken into the possibilities that Ranma had left the house because of the misunderstanding, but if Uncle was still here, then Ranma must still be here, too. "Uncle, do you know where Ranma is?"

A bead of sweat trickled down the panda's head. He quickly changed the subject and started to write a comment about the weather.

It was then when Kasumi passed by, her hands holding a laundry basket with some clothes neatly folded in it. As soon as she saw Akane, the laundry basket fell off her hand. By then, Akane did not look good. She was thinner, she was dirty, and her hair was unkempt. Dark circles were forming under her eyes.

"Kasumi-neechan," mumbled Akane, ignoring her reaction. "Do you know where Ranma is?"

"He went looking for you." Kasumi started to gather the clothes she'd dropped before she added, "Oh, but you're here."

Both Nabiki and her father chose that moment to mysteriously materialize out of nowhere.

"What's going on he—Akane, you're back!" Soun wasted no time and Akane was soon in her embrace as he sobbed out of joy. She was too weak to protest or to return his hug. After the tearful reunion, Soun put on his sincerely happy face. "I knew you could do it, Ranma." But he looked around confusedly as he couldn't find the person he was addressing.

He didn't have the chance to dwell on the whereabouts of Ranma, though, because Akane had fallen asleep in his arms and it was his job to carry her to her bed.

-tbc-


End file.
